Izu
- For other places with the same name, see Izu (disambiguation).
Izu (伊豆市 Izu-shi) is a city in Shizuoka. People often use the word "Izu" to refer to the entire Izu Peninsula, located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture.
Shuzenji (修善寺) is a major hot spring town. Officially, it merged with other towns in 2004 to form Izu, but the area is still more commonly called Shuzenji.
Understand
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In 2007, Shuzenji celebrated the 1200th anniversary of its founding. The original town was built around Shuzen-ji Temple, from which it gains its name. It is a pleasant little town with many hot spring hotels overlooking the river.
There are two official tourist information sites (both are Japanese-only with integrated Google Translate):
Get in
edit1 Shuzenji Station 
is the last station on a ride through a broad valley on the Izuhakone Railway Sunzu Line, connecting to Mishima on the Tokaido Shinkansen and the JR Tokaido Main Line. From Mishima, it takes about 35 minutes and costs ¥510. A trip from Tokyo on the Hikari or Kodama Shinkansen takes 1½-2 hours (¥4,830; with Japan Rail Pass you only have to pay the ¥510 for the Izuhakone Railway segment). From Tokyo, there is also a twice-daily (departing 09:00 and 12:00, returning 12:35 and 15:39) Odoriko limited express, completing the trip in about 2 hours for ¥4,510.
Shuzenji can also be reached by Tokai Bus from other places on the Izu Peninsula.
Get around
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The old town center of Shuzenji can be reached by bus from Shuzenji Station in about 10 minutes, departing roughly every 15 minutes.
See
edit- 1 Shuzenji Temple (修禅寺), ☏ +81 558-72-0053. Shuzenji Temple has a small museum with some nice artifacts that are related to its founder, Kobo Daishi. ¥300.
Do
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- 1 Cycle Sport Center (サイクルスポーツセンター) (Buses run from Shuzenji Station). A bicycle themed amusement park with pedal-powered roller coasters, a 5-km bike course, a 400-m racing piste and an MTB course. An adjacent onsen spa is available. General admission: adults ¥800, children ¥600. Attractions ¥300-600.
- 2 Hakoyu (筥湯). A cedar-lined public bath built in 2000 by the tourist association. Also has a three-story tower that gives a nice view over the roofline of the town. ¥350.
- 3 Niji-no-Sato (虹の郷, "Rainbow Village"), 4279-3 Shuzenji (Buses run from Shuzenji Station), ☏ +81 558-72-7111. Daily 09:00-16:30. A large amusement theme park on nature and British architecture with a Canadian village, an English village, and completed with a train and a Japanese garden. Adults ¥1200, children ¥600.
- 4 Shuzenji Bairin (修善寺梅林) (20-minute walk uphill from Shuzenji Temple). A plum garden park atop Mt. Daruma. In February the tourist association holds a plum blossom festival. Free.
- 5 Tokko-no-yu (独鈷の湯). The historic spot where Shuzenji's springs were first discovered by Kobo Daishi. A small public rotenburo (open-air bath) in the middle of the town center — but it's not for bathing your whole body, only your feet! Free.
- 6 Wasabi fields of Ikadaba (筏場のわさび田 Ikadaba no wasabi-da), Ikadaba, ☏ +81 558 83-2636 (Izu tourism bureau Nakaizu branch).
Buy
editShuzenji's numerous gift shops feature fresh wasabi (and all manner of wasabi flavored foods), black rice, and locally made bamboo products such as baskets and kitchen utensils
Eat
editOpposite to the Sora Togetsusou Kinryu hotel is the Nayuta bar with a laidback atmosphere and it is decorated with a large collection of miniature toys. They serve different foods, from ramen to their own version of takoyaki. The bar owner is a fan of Santana.
- maruShuzenji (maru修善寺). An Italian pizzeria.
- Shuzenji no Yoshokuya (修善寺ｎｏ洋食屋). A restaurant with curry, pasta, hayashi rice, and other dishes.
Drink
edit- 1 Baird Brewery Gardens (ベアードブルワリーガーデン), 1052-1 Oodaira, ☏ +81 558-73-1225. Daily 11:00-19:00. Scenic riverside brewery in Shuzenji, where the legendary Baird family craft brewers work their magic. The third floor tap room has up to 20 varieties on tap. Brewery tours including tasting flight on F Sa Su by prior reservation only (¥1000).
Sleep
editThere are many hot spring hotels in town.
- 1 Hotel-Fuji Fugaku Gunjo (富岳群青), 2461-1 Yagisawa, ☏ +81 558-99-1111, fax: +81-558-99-1112. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Fugaku Gunjo is a place where you can enjoy watching the sea, dine on great food and enjoy a nice hot spring. Each room has a private open-air bath so you can enjoy the view of the sea while taking a bath. ¥63,000-73,000.
- 2 Shuzenji Forest (修善寺フォーレスト) (about a 10-min drive from Shuzenji Station), ☏ +81 3-3666-0068. Offers comfortable cottages. There are several types of rooms including terraced cottages for 2-10 people, deluxe detached houses for 10-20 people. All properties have a kitchen and hot spring, and partially outdoor bath. You can also BBQ. Off-peak season ¥6200 per person, peak-season ¥13,700 per person.
- Sora Togetsusō Kinryū (宙渡月荘金龍) (at the edge of Shuzenji, within 2 min walk of the city center). The stylish hotel has beautifully decorated Japanese style rooms with their own wooden bathtub. One of the public hot springs has a very modern lighting design, which can be visited by men before 20:00 and by women after 20:00. There are also private outdoor hot spring that can be rented for 40 minutes for ¥2000. Room-only rates for one night are about ¥21,000.
- Breezbay Shuzenji Hotel (ブリーズベイ修善寺ホテル) (about 10 minutes' walk from the Shuzenji Onsen bus stop.). Formerly known as Yutorian Shuzenji Hotel. It features an Indonesian themed public area. Rooms are mainly Western/Japanese style with beds and tatami. There are indoor and outdoor onsen baths for men and women, and a mixed-sex bath in a cave discovered by the owner. Room rates including dinner and breakfast start at ¥12,000 per person.